Silver Flames on Christmas Eve
by thecrazyfanficcer
Summary: [ONESHOT] Shortly after noon on December 22nd, 1998, a delivery man from Magical Material Co, Incendius degli Soldi, appeared to the door of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes with a strange gray box...


_The twins, the twins!_

_How cool they are._

_They live around here, but they come from afar._

_Their tale unfolds._

_This tale of wonder,_

_This tale of old._

Disclaimer: Too bad Harry Potter and all related thingamabobs don't belong to me… Incendius does, though! Peace as you read this crazy Christmas story!

--------------------------------------

Fred crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side, giving him an ironic resemblance to a wounded beagle. "Why hasn't it come yet?"

George grinned evilly. "May be it's...held up…by something," he replied, drawing his words out as he laughed wickedly.

Fred rolled his eyes, but the tall redhead was grinning. "Give or take another day. If it doesn't come by then, we'll have to close up shop for the holidays."

George nodded and made his way over to the door of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, waving his hand majestically over the bell. "Well, we might as well decorate," he added mysteriously as a sprig of mistletoe appeared over the door.

"You are wise, brother." Fred cackled like a demon as he waved his wand in twisting circles.

--------------------------------------

" 'Ell, 'ere she is," the delivery man grinned, running a hand through his wavy gray locks. "She took the 'ife out of me, she did, bu' 'ere she is."

George flipped open his dragon-hide wallet. The Weasley twins had been rolling in golden Galleons ever since Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes had opened up two summers ago. "How much?"

The delivery man seemed to savour the clink of goblin-made currency. "Eighteen Galleons, thirteen Sickles, three Knuts."

George flicked him twenty Galleons in rapid succession. "Here, keep the change."

"Than' ye kindly. Peace be on thee 'is seaso' as the 'olidays grace us all." The delivery man safely tucked the gold safely in a pocket of his shabby gray coat.

Fred appeared then, his face a mass of sleep-tousled red hair as his lanky figure crested the top of his twin's head. He yawned hugely, causing his freckles to stand out like red spots of paint on his face, and gestured in the direction of the delivery man. "What's your name, sir?"

"Mm?" The old man seemed caught off guard. "Me 'ame be Incendius Silver degli Soldi."

George raised an eyebrow as he felt Fred's blue eyes pierce through the back of his neck. "Where do you go at the end of every day, Incendius?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I 'ave no 'ome, so I 'sually slee' under benches at the park, in the city, 'nywhere," he admitted, his sea-green eyes focused on the tiled floor of Fred and George's joke shop.

A fleeting grin flitted from Fred to George. "Well… If you'd like, we can give you a home at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes," George suggested with a mock bow.

"Tax not included." Fred flourished his wand and held out his hand in a peace offering.

" 'Is is the nic'st thin' 'nyone's 'ver done for me, 'tis," replied Incendius, his eyes glowing as a tear trickled down his cheek.

Fred and George high-fived each other with excited whoops. Quickly realising that Incendius was sill standing on the doorstep, Fred grinned, embarrassed, and he and his brother shifted aside to let the old man pass.

--------------------------------------

"What's in here, anyway?" George asked, looking up at the other two.

Fred grinned and rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Not even Incendius knows that, bro."

"That I don't, aye." The wizened spellcaster smiled and tipped back his hat.

George grinned mysteriously, his blue eyes slits under his mop of reddish-orange hair. He dropped down to his knees and pulled his alder-wood wand out of his pocket and waved it over the box, but the delivery man stopped him.

"Sorry, George," Incendius intervened, seizing the twin's wrist in a grip that was surprisingly strong for one so old. George stared at the leather-gloved hand clutching his WWW bracelet and blinked before respectfully bringing his sky-coloured gaze to the floor.

Incendius released George's wrist and removed his own wand with a flourish, a thick but surprisingly whippy oaken eleven-inch apparatus. The wizened spellcaster rolled up his sleeves and brandished it.

Instantly, a sea of silver flames sprang up, a blazing mass of argented fire that twinkled and danced on the lid of the box for a few seconds before it reared up and flickered right at the tip of Fred's nose. The twins watched in horrified amazement as the silvery blaze crested the tops of their lean figures and diminished back down to a quiet flame. Their eyes followed the silver mass as it outlined sparkling white along the lid of the box and disappeared with a sprinkle and a splatter.

Fred cheered and George wolf-whistled as Incendius grinned and took a bow, his robe swirling behind him and his face wreathed in a smile as the twins expressed their joy and amazement. He disappeared momentarily before reappearing again in a puff of smoke behind them.

George pulled out the lid of the box and sifted through its contents. "No wonder your name is Incendius Silver degli Soldi," he commented with a smile.

--------------------------------------

Incendius was dozing in a hammock that Fred had conjured up between two shelves some time later when George, sitting with his twin in a use storeroom at the back of the store, grinned evilly.

"You're ready, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

Fred grinned back, his eyes reduced to slivers of cerulean under his mane of carrot-coloured hair. Wordlessly, he adjusted himself on the crate of Ton-Tongue Toffee and retrieved a small pewter cauldron from the floor. He carefully heaved the stone reptacle onto is knees and ran his fingers on the shaft of the wooden spoon poked under its lid. He winked at George and ladled out a spoonful of liquid inside, which he then poured into a silver goblet he removed from his pocket.

--------------------------------------

Incendius awoke, stirring slightly in his hammock as he watched George deftly twirling a goblet in his nimble fingers, right in front of him. He saw the twins' blue eyes meet and he briefly wondered what they were up to. As it was, the wizened spellcaster smiled when George handed him the goblet of steaming brown liquid.

"Peace be on thee," Incendius smiled as he took the goblet, his hands warmed by the chocolaty liquid inside. Pulling out his wand, the aged wizard murmured his namesake spell over the goblet and pushed it forward as a small silver fire popped up above the rim.

"Ev'ry witch or 'izard has one or two elements," Incendius explained, bringing the goblet to his lips as the silver fire died down. " 'Ey oft tend to get mixed up, 'ey do."

"Wonder what ours are," Fred mused politely, but he was exchanging devious looks with George.

Meanwhile, Incendius drank some of the hot chocolate, mysteriously leaving the goblet still in his hands. All of a sudden, his sea-green eyes widened and he began to shake involuntarily. He trembled so furiously that he slid to the floor and danced crazily, ad evil grin on his lips as he twirled and gyrated to the beat of an imaginary orchestra.

George had a wicked smile on his face when the old man came to.

"How do you like our new Crazy Spinners?" he asked with a devilish grin. "There are different kinds and types. The one you just had as a Twisting Treacle Tart."

"The ad will go like…" Fred trailed off, his expression passive, then cleared his throat. " 'Ever felt your mundane old life rolling around in circles like an enchanted top? Ever felt that cloud of boredom threatening to close in on you one night? Well, all that is behind you. Bowl a Boogie Bar into your brother's brandy, crush a Quickstep Clump into your cousin's cognac, flip a Funny Fruit into your friend's Firewhiskey and gush a Gripping Glob into your granny's Gillywater and watch in horrified amazement as they swing hips, shake booties, and have an awesome time under an imaginary yellow spotlight. Have a blast under the influence of Crazy Spinners. Five Knuts to a box, an extra Sickle to pay if you want more flavours.' "

Incendius cocked his head to the side. "Cheap and efficient," he noted slyly, one eyebrow raised. Then he chanced to glance out the window. "Fred, George!" he cried, his sea-green eyes focused on a white mound outside that splattered against the window glass.

-------------------------------------

Fred trekked out under a blanket of white, a snow shovel slung over one shoulder. Trailing behind him were George and Incendius, both similarly garbed in cloaks that shrouded their bodies in cloud-coloured fluff. They too had Muggle snow shovels thrown over their shoulders; George was singing a meandering melody and Fred hummed along in perfect unison.

"It's funner to clean up a gigantic snowfall like a Muggle," Fred announced suddenly, spinning his shovel in twirling circles so the blade glinted in the sunlight. "With lushuvs."

"Shovels," Incendius corrected as he tramped over a mound of soft, fluffy snow, "Shovels."

"I always knew Muggles were smart," George declared, planting one the edge of his shovel into the fluffy white snow. He paused, stamping his feet for a few seconds, and then, flinging out his arms to keep his balance, leaped onto the blade and dug it into the snow.

Though they had shovelled a reasonable amount of snow up and over the top of Weaslys' Wizard Wheezes, it wasn't long before enchanted snowballs were flying through the air and Incendius was literally covered with sticky wet white stuff, owing to repeated smackings of magically-thrown snow. He cocked his head to the side and sent a snowball flying after Fred and George - the Muggle way.

-------------------------------------

"Well, it's Christmas Eve and I've sent Fred dancing with one of his own Crazy Spinners," Ron Weasley said, smiling slightly as he draped one arm over Hermione Granger's shoulders.

"Honestly, Ron, just because we've been going out doesn't mean you can make a fool out of yourself." Hermione reprimanded the tall redhead, but she was grinning.

"Kids," Incendius noted then, rolling his eyes. " 'Eyre so crazy 'ometimes."

As it was, they were all splayed in front of a magnificent fireplace in a back room of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. At this point, George crawled forward and kicked Ron in the shin.

"That's for sending Fred spinning in crazy circles," he proclaimed mischievously.

"Stop acting like first-years already," chastised Verity, a young blond worker for WWW. "We have to celebrate, not send Fred dancing crazily."

"Ah, give them their fun, Ver," intervened a somewhat sleepy Harry Potter, who was huddled up with Ginny, Ron's younger sister, as usual. "You're too old for this stuff."

"She's only two years older than you," Neville Longbottom called back, staring at the fireplace.

"Things are getting mad. Quite mad indeed, if I do say so myself," Luna Lovegood added - which, for Luna, was saying something. Her straggly blond hair seemed to have snagged onto the clasp of Neville's dragon-hide cloak, but the older boy didn't seem to mind.

"Hey, no blaming us," George declared, jumping onto sneakered feet as he jogged over to the cellar. Fred had stopped dancing and now accompanied his brother on the cold stone steps. "I like Alicia and Fred likes Katie. And Oliver likes Angelina. Love and life, life and love. Masters of mischief and deities of deception, we are."

Fred flushed momentarily. "Just don't tell dear old Ollie we said that." He brushed a hand through his thick red hair. "Anyway, me'n George are going to get some Butterbeer. See you in a bit." With that, the two of them disappeared.

-------------------------------------

The clock struck midnight.

Incendius rolled up and over from where he was sitting, snacking on Cauldron Cakes and Butterbeer as he watched the last embers of the fire crackle down, reduced in seconds to glowing orange coals. It was a time of Christmas quietness; the couples were embracing each other in a barely conscious torpor.

The wizened spellcaster focused his gaze on the soot-blackened hearth, and instantly an argented blaze roared up, He smiled as the couples were roused from their trance.

"What are you doing, Incendius?" Verity asked, stirring slightly.

"Let's just call it 'silver flames on Christmas Eve,' " Incendius answered with a smile.

-------------------------------------

**In Italian, "_degli soldi_" means "of the money." Incendius' last name is that because his family used to be rich back in the old day. See ya! ;)**


End file.
